John Robert Sebo v. American Home Assurance Company, Inc.

208 So. 3d 694, 41 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 582, 2016 Fla. LEXIS 2596
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedDecember 1, 2016
DocketSC14-897
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 208 So. 3d 694 (John Robert Sebo v. American Home Assurance Company, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
John Robert Sebo v. American Home Assurance Company, Inc., 208 So. 3d 694, 41 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 582, 2016 Fla. LEXIS 2596 (Fla. 2016).

Opinions

PERRY, J.

John Sebo seeks review of the decision of the Second District Court of Appeal in American Home Assurance Co. v. Sebo, 141 So.3d 195 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013), on the ground that it expressly and directly conflicts with a decision of the Third District Court of Appeal in Wallach v. Rosenberg, 527 So.2d 1386 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988), on a question of law. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const. For the following reasons, we quash the decision in Sebo, and approve the rationale of the Third District in Wallach.

FACTS

The facts of this case are taken from the Second District Court of Appeal’s opinion:

[John] Sebo purchased [a Naples, Florida] home in April 2005, when it was four years old. [American Home Assurance Company (AHAC) ] provided homeowners insurance as of the date of the purchase. The policy, which insured against “all risks,” was issued through a private client group and was referred to as a manuscript policy. It was not a standard form but instead was created specifically for the Sebo residence. The house and other permanent structures were insured for over $8,000,000. The [696]*696policy also provided additional coverage for loss of use of the home.
Shortly after Sebo bought the residence, water began to intrude during rainstorms. Major water leaks were reported to Sebo’s property manager as early as May 31, 2005. She prepared a list of problems: leaks in the main house at the foyer, the living room, dining room, piano room, exercise room, master bathroom, and upstairs bathroom. By June 22, '2005, the property manager advised Sebo of these leaks in writing. It became clear that the house suffered from major design and construction defects. After an August rain, paint along the windows just fell off the wall. In October 2005, Hurricane Wilma struck Naples and further damaged the Sebo residence.
Sebo did not report the water intrusion and other damages to AHAC until December 30, 2005. AHAC investigated the claim, and in April 2006 it denied coverage for most of the claimed losses. The policy provided $50,000 in coverage for mold, and AHAC tendered that amount to Sebo but stated .that “the balance of the damages,to .the house, including any window, door, and other repairs, is not covered.” In May 2008, Sebo renewed his claim and sent more information about the damages to AHAC, but' AHAC again denied the claim except for the $50,000 in mold damages.
The residence could not be repaired and was eventually demolished. In January 2007, Sebo fled suit against a number of defendants, including the sellers of the property, the architect who designed the residence, and the construction company that built it. He alleged that the home had been negligently designed and constructed and that the sellers had fraudulently failed to disclose the defects in the property. Sebo eventually amended his complaint in November 2009, adding AHAC as a defendant and seeking a declaration that the policy provided coverage for his damages. After Sebo settled his claims against a majority of all other defendants, the trial proceeded only on his declaratory action against AHAC. The jurors found in favor of Sebo, and the court eventually entered judgment against AHAC.

Sebo, 141 So.3d at 196-97.

On appeal, the Second District found that “[t]here is no dispute in this case that there was more than one cause of the loss, including defective construction, rain, and wind,” Id. at 197. However, the court disagreed with the trial court’s application of Wallach, 527 So.2d 1386, and, in fact, disagreed with the Third District’s “determination that the concurrent causation doctrine should be applied in a case involving multiple perils and a first-party insurance policy.” Sebo, 141 So.3d at 198, The court reversed and remanded for a new trial, “in which the causation of Sebo’s loss is examined under the efficient proximate cause theory.” Id. at 201.

Standard of Review '

The issue presented is whether coverage exists under Sebo’s all-risk policy when multiple perils- combined to create a loss and at least one of the perils is excluded by the terms of the .policy. To answer this question, this Court must determine the proper theory of recovery to, apply, which is a pure question of law. Therefore, the review, is de novo. Fayad v. Clarendon Nat’l Ins. Co., 899 So.2d 1082, 1085 (Fla.2005).

Additionally, the policy at issue in this case-'is an all-risk policy. We have stated that “[ajlthough the term ‘all-risk’ is afforded a broad, comprehensive meaning, an ‘all-risk’ policy is not an ‘all loss’ policy, and this does not extend coverage for ev[697]*697ery conceivable loss.” Id. at 1086 (citation omitted). Insurance contracts are construed in accordance with the plain language of the policy. Id. (citing Auto-Owners Ins. Co. v. Anderson, 756 So.2d 29, 33 (Fla.2000)). However, if the language is susceptible to more than one reasonable interpretation and is therefore ambiguous, the policy will be strictly construed against the insurer and in favor of the insured. Id. “[AJmbiguous ‘exclusionary clauses are construed even more strictly against the insurer than coverage clauses.’ ” Id. (quoting Anderson, 756 So.2d at 34). In short, in all-risk policies such as the one held by Sebo, construction is governed by the language of the exclusionary provisions.

DISCUSSION

We are confronted with determining the appropriate theory of recovery to apply when two or more perils converge to cause a loss and at least one of the perils is excluded from an insurance policy. When addressing this question, courts have developed competing theories on how to determine coverage: the efficient proximate cause and concurring cause doctrines. To begin our analysis, we first explain these doctrines. Then we discuss the Second District’s decision below. We conclude that when independent perils converge and no single cause can be considered the sole or proximate cause, it is appropriate to apply the concurring cause doctrine. Accordingly, we quash the decision below.

Efficient Proximate Cause (EPC)

The EPC provides that where there is a concurrence of different perils, the efficient cause — the one that set the other in motion — is the cause to which the loss is attributable. Sabella v. Nat’l Union Fire Ins. Co., 59 Cal.2d 21, 27 Cal.Rptr. 689, 377 P.2d 889, 892 (1963); Fire Ass’n of Phila. v. Evansville Brewing Ass’n, 73 Fla. 904, 75 So. 196 (1917).

We applied the EPC in Evansville Brewing, where the coverage at issue provided under an all-loss fire policy excluded loss caused by an explosion. We explained, “[wjhile the insurer is not liable for a loss caused by an explosion which was not produced by a preceding fire, yet if the explosion is caused by fire during its progress in the building, the fire is the proximate cause of the loss, the explosion being a mere incident of the fire, and the insurer is liable.” Evansville Brewing, 75 So. at 198. In Evansville Brewing, we contemplated a chain of events where one peril directly led to a subsequent peril. In finding that coverage existed under the policy, we drew the distinction between a covered peril setting into motion an uncovered peril and an uncovered peril setting into motion a covered peril.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Citizens Property Insurance Corporation v. Sandra Blanco
District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2026
Untitled Case
M.D. Florida, 2026

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
208 So. 3d 694, 41 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 582, 2016 Fla. LEXIS 2596, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/john-robert-sebo-v-american-home-assurance-company-inc-fla-2016.